The Vault of Silas
by Navek
Summary: Fairy Mythos Side-Story. Before he menaced Team Morningstar, Silas walked the earth for centuries. And during those centuries, he took part in several horrific events. But who is more terrifying; the monsters Silas encounters, or Silas himself? A series of horrific one-shots starring the Living Shadow. Happy Halloween!


**Author's Note 1: Warning! The following chapter contains graphic descriptions of mutilated flesh, mind-bending horror, and Silas being Silas. Those of you with weak stomachs should NOT read this story!**

**In honor of Halloween, welcome to a new annual tradition for this series; The Vault of Silas!**

_**Navek and xpegasus present**_

_**A Fairy Mythos Halloween Special**_

_**The Vault of Silas**_

_**What Lies Beyond**_

_**350 Years Ago…**_

Colonia was a small sleepy village off the beaten track. Despite the presence of a wizard guild, it was a rural town with less than thirty buildings. The perfect place to visit for a short holiday out in the country…and for a feast.

Silas the Shadowman walked into the town, cane in hand and suit freshly cleaned and pressed, his eyes turning from red & black to a non-threatening blue & white. Despite the clean appearance, the Etherious had been through quite a rough week. A hurricane was passing through the countryside, so he decided to find cover in a cave. And unfortunately for Silas, the cave was also home to a very temperamental fire dragon.

'**Extinct my magical ass,' **the Shadowman thought to himself as he walked towards the local tavern. Between the hurricane and the dragon, Silas ended up having to run away to save himself. At the very least, he had managed to scar the dragon above his eye before escaping.

But still, he felt like needed to take it easy for a bit after almost being destroyed by two forces of nature at once…which for him meant stalking and slowly eating some hapless humans in a nowhere town.

Soon enough, Silas entered the tavern. Normally, at this time of night, places like this would be full of drunken and cheerful patrons. But as he entered, the Shadowman noticed that there was barely anyone inside, aside from a handful of customers and the owner manning the bar.

"You new in town?" The owner asked as Silas took a seat at the bar.

"**Yup. Just a weary traveler looking for a short stay," **the Shadowman replied. "**How much is a week here?" **

"6000 a night."

"**Okay then," **Silas replied, pulling out a sack of Jewels that he had…appropriated from a traveling carnival. The silver-haired man then looked around. "**I guess the storm really kills business." **

"Actually, it was the same before the storm," The bartender stated. "Been like this for a few weeks."

"**Really," **Silas asked, intrigued by this bit of information. "**And why's that?" **

The bartender looked around before beginning to talk. "It's got to do with the local guild; Midnight Mantis. A bit before the storm, there was some kinda freaky light show coming from the guildhall and then…nothing. None of the local wizarding folk have stepped out of that guild in three weeks."

"**And no one's tried to investigate?" **

"We were planning to, but we had to hunker down away from the storm. Now the town's been focused on fixing up the damage, one lady's house got blown to pieces. Besides, even if something has happened inside Midnight Mantis…well, none of us are wizarding folk, so what are we supposed to do about it?"

Silas said nothing after that. After a few drinks, the Shadowman eventually made way to his temporary room. He was feeling a tad tired after all the traveling he had been doing recently and decided to hold off on any 'late-night snacks' until the next night. So he laid down on his bed, his body taking a shadowy cocoon appearance as he began to fall asleep.

_Hundreds of eyes…staring…blinking…before turning into vicious gnashing mouths. _

_**Come…**_

_Fingers splitting apart, blood flying like string. _

_**Come to us…**_

_The world in negative._

_**...we...will...show...you…**_

_A massive mouth opens up from a stomach. _

_**All the pleasures of the flesh.**_

In an instant, Silas awoke, turning back into his human-like appearance as his mind reeled from he'd just seen. Most people would assume that the horrific sights he had just seen were just a particularly weird nightmare. But Silas was not 'people,' he was Etherious, living magic. He was more attuned to the mana that flowed through the planet. What he saw wasn't a nightmare; it was someone or something attempting to communicate with him. And he had a feeling what the cause was.

Determined to figure out what the hell was going on, Silas slithered out the window in his shadow form and made his way towards the edge of town and the Midnight Mantis guildhall. As he did, the Ethereous caught up the stench of burnt flesh wafting through the air. Following the scent, Silas entered through the doors of the guildhall. Suffice to say, he was not expecting what he saw.

All over the guildhall were…things of burnt flesh. Really, that was the best way he could use to describe what he saw. Balls of limbs, two corpses fused back-to-back, piles of naked flesh consisting of several…what he assumed were once human genitals and even a few corpses who seemed to have extra limbs shoved into their bodies. If Silas had an actual stomach, he probably would've thrown up.

"DIE!" Suddenly, a young man leaped from one of the overturned tables, a crazed look in his eyes. Silas effortlessly caught him by the wrist.

"**You've got ten seconds to explain yourself before I disembowel you." **

"You…you're not…oh thank the founders," the young man said, his crazed expression breaking down, tears running down his face. "I…I…it's been so long since I've seen someone who wasn't…" He then gestured to all the grotesque cadavers. "...well, like that."

"**Yes, I've been wondering about that," **Silas said, letting go of the young man's wrist to continue looking around. "**What the fuck happened here?" **

"W-Where do I even begin?" The wizard said as the well-dressed man approached one of the corpses. "This whole…it…it's been a fuckin' nightmare for…I don't even know how long-DON'T FUCKING TOUCH THAT!" Silas stopped in his tracks from the sudden yelling, withdrawing his hand from one of the limb balls.

"That's how it spreads! If she doesn't touch you, these f-fucking things will turn ya into one of them!"

The mentioning of a 'she' got Silas' attention. "**Who is 'she'?" **

"Our guildmaster…no…" The young man said. "…that thing that was our guild master. As far as I could remember, she was...obsessed with seeing into the depths of the Aether Sea. It's that endless expanse of ma-"

"**I know what the Aether Sea is, kid. Move on." **

"Right. So, she made a spell that would let her look into the deepest parts of the Aether. And it seemed to work…but…but…"

The wizard began to hyperventilate, body shaking, eyes glazing over- Silas slapped him in the face.

"**Focus, dammit! What happened!?" **

"…t-the spell…it attracted _something…_something that was living in the Aether Sea. She reached out to touch it and it…it…" The boy looked like he was about to puke. "It went inside her."

"**So, it possessed her?" **

At Silas' question, the wizard started laughing. "Possessed her, no, no, no… that thing _burrowed_ itself into her! It…it jumped into her body through her fucking eyeballs! AND THEY GREW RIGHT BACK! And that smile…oh, Davros that smile. We could tell that whatever was standing in front of us…it wasn't Master Jolyne. Evan was the first person it touched- he's that melted flesh pile on the ceiling. His wife and son tried to help him…and they…t-they…they turned inside out!"

He continued to recount what had happened, his voice and face becoming more crazed and terrified with each memory. He told Silas about how even mutated, the guild wizards were still alive and in agony, so he used his fire magic to put them out of their misery. As he continued to speak, Silas was finally able to take stock of the wizard's appearance. Aside from already guessing his age, he saw that his clothing was worn, torn, and clearly had been worn continuously for a few weeks. Adding to this was the grime and dirt on his skin, indicating that he hadn't bathed in quite a while either.

"Every night, that thing reappears in the guild…I…I think I'm the only one left."

"**Okay. But why haven't you just left the guildhall?" **

"I CAN'T! I-I NEED TO KILL IT! MAKE SURE IT DOESN'T INFECT THE TOWN!"

And just as he said, a wave of foreign mana washed over the guildhall, the colors around them inverting before returning back to normal.

"**What the-"**

"FUCK! IT'S BACK!" The wizard shouted, taking a pitiful excuse of a fighting stance. And that's when the noises started coming from the guildhall's second floor. Silas could hear slow, heavy footsteps slamming into the floor…along with a disgusting squishing sound.

Eventually, he saw the creature the young man was afraid of. And the best way Silas could describe it was as a walking set of mutilated naked corpses stretched, mashed, and sewn together wearing a woman's face. It's short, fat legs wobbled as it walked down the steps. Its torso was a mass of flesh not quite melted together, remnants of human faces twisted in agony in its chest. Its neck was long and thick like a worm, stretching out forward with viscous liquid pouring down from its…Silas had to describe them as pores. The creature's arms were as grotesque as the rest of it, long and thick wriggling things that were more like tentacles than proper arms with eight stubby fingers that dragged across the ground, leaving trails of blood and puss. The only human part was the feminine face of who Silas assumed was the Midnight Mantis guild master, her blue eyes contrasting the vile red flesh of her…it's body.

If Silas actually had a stomach, he probably would've puked at the sight of this monstrosity.

"_**Marvin…**__hello…__**again…**_" The creature spoke in a dozen voices as it looked down towards the guild wizard and then at Silas. "…_you…__**you're…**__new." _

"**What the fuck are you?" **Silas asked, equal parts disgusted and curious.

"_**I…**__we…__**are…**__from…__**beyond…**__your…__**world." **_It explained as it finally lumbered onto the ground floor. "_**In light**_…_blinding light…__**we…**__existed…__**until…" **_The creature brought its eight-fingered hand to the guild master's face, caressing lovingly as it dragged streaks of blood across the ivory skin. "…_the flesh one…__**Jolyne…**__called to…__**us…**_"

As if the monster couldn't be any more revolting…it started to moan in ecstasy as it moved its hands all over its body. "…_The flesh was…__**new…**__sensations unlike…__**anything felt before…**__I…__**we…**__need to share the…__**pleasure of flesh." **_

It then waved its arms, gesturing to the dead and mutated guildmates. "_So…__**we shared…**__our pleasure…__**with everyone. **__But…__**this flesh is…**__getting old…" _

Drool dripped from the creature's mouth. "_**Need…**__new…__**flesh…**__need_…_**more…**__pleasure…" _

Unbeknownst to Silas or Marvin, a small tentacle had spewed out from the bottom of the creature's foot, moving beneath the floorboards until it was behind the Shadowman.

"_**We will...**__show you...__**all the pleasures...**__OF FLESH!" _The tentacle shot out from the floor, stabbing Silas through the back to the head.

"NO! NOT AGAIN!" Marvin screamed in horror while the creature giggled with perversion. But suddenly, the giggling ceased as the creature raised an eyebrow.

"_**Wait...**__something's...__**not right," **_It proclaimed as…as Silas began to laugh.

"**What was that you said? That you'd show me all the pleasures of the flesh?" **The Shadowman said as wisps of shadow began to emanate from his personage. Deciding he was done being passive, Silas opened his eyes, turning them back into their natural red & black coloring that sent shivers down Marvin's spine and continued to baffle the creature. "**Too bad I don't have any flesh." **

"_You…_" The creature began to say, backing up a tad. "_**...you are not...**__what are...__**you?" **_

"**Hmph. Been a while since someone asked what. Normally, they just scream; why?" **Silas proclaimed before slashing the creature's tentacle off with a shadow tendril, causing it to scream in pain. As he walked towards the creature, Silas continued his speech. "**I am magic given physical form. I am the nightmare that has plagued this world for over a thousand years. And as of tonight…" **The red & black-eyed etherious took one look at the creature, reveling in its confused and terrified expression. "**...I am the predator that even the unknown fear." **

As he said this, Silas shed his human appearance, becoming a cloud of pure shadow magic, his red eyes staring down at the creature. "**I am the Son of Zeref; Silas, the Living Shadow. And I. Am. Hungry." **

Without warning, Silas launched at the creature and bit into its shoulder. The creature screamed as multi-colored fluids spewed out of the bite.

"_I...__**WILL NOT...**__BE EATEN!" _The monster shouted, unhinging its jaw and twisting its long neck in an attempt to eat Silas. But naturally, the creature's teeth slipped through the darkness like a hand through the mist, leaving it helpless as the living shadow continued to consume it.

And Marvin sat there, watching helplessly as the monster that mutilated his friends for over a month was ripped apart by…another monster. A monster that seemed like an average man. The shadow grew, becoming larger as Silas continued to tear into the creature, ripping it apart piece by piece.

"**N**_ON_**O**N_O_**N**O_N_**O**N**O**_N_**ON**_O_N_O_**N**O_N_**O**O_OO_**O**O**O**_O_O_O_**O**_**!**_" the creature screamed as Silas tore into its abomination of a body. It tried to break away, but the Etherious wouldn't let go and ripped an arm from the abomination. It screamed in pain with the voices all it had consumed to make its body.

"**You know, I don't think I gave you enough credit,"** Silas said with a chuckle. He bit into the creature's severed arm with a sickening crunch and squish. "**You said you would show me the pleasures of the flesh and you did." **The Shadowman smiled as the creature looked up at him as it trembled with fear. "**Because your flesh is delicious." **Silas lunged.

It only took less than a minute, but to Marvin, it felt like hours; Silas had consumed the creature from beyond, the only trace of it being the fluids on the Shadowman's lips. As he wiped the viscera off, the silver-haired Etherious took a glance at Marvin. The young man did nothing, his fear and shock now completely crippling his movement. He saw the Shadowman gain a contemplative look on his face. And Marvin had an idea what he was thinking about; whether or not Silas would eat him as well.

He raised a finger, pointed it at Marvin, and shot a single shadowy spike… into the floor beside him. Marvin looked down and saw a single piece of flesh thrashing about and hissing in pain on the Etherious' finger. Silas brought the last remnants of the creature to his lips and ate like an appetizer on a toothpick. The silver-haired man drew his finger from his mouth with a pop, licking his lips.

Silas looked back at the terrified man, smiled…and simply walked out of the guildhall. Marvin sat there, looking back and forth between the door and the guildhall. Back and forth, back and forth. Soon, a small chuckle bubbled up in his throat.

"Heh...hehe….heheheheHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

As poor Marvin's mind finally broke, Silas walked back to his hotel room, full and satisfied. It would be days until the young man left the guildhall, his throat sore from laughter and his mind wrought in fear. He had thought that thing from beyond was the most horrific monster he had ever seen. He was wrong.

There was already a monster worse than the creature. One who would continue to walk the earth for centuries to come.

_**The End…for now. **_

**Author's Note 2: Happy Halloween, everyone! I've wanted to do a Holiday special of sorts. And based on how this goes over, you can expect other holiday special one-shots. And hopefully, they won't be as disgusting as this one. **

**See ya later! And sweet nightmares...AHAHAHAHAHAHA!**


End file.
